After the Storm
by gleamandglowcloud
Summary: Anna just wants a big sister. Elsa just wants peace. That's harder than it seems, especially in the midst of deception and fear. Can true love really fix everything? Picks up where the movie left off.
1. Chapter 1

"Elsa?" The voice on the other side of the door was soft, hesitant. At her desk, Elsa looked up at the sound of her name, but remained silent. She stared at the door with an intensity only made fiercer by the icy blue of her eyes.

There was a sigh from the other side of the door. "I know you're in there." The pleading tone turned into a muffled sarcastic mumble. Elsa barely caught the words "where else would you be," before the soft hesitance resumed. "Elsa, whatever it is, I can probably help with. Just let me in."

A pause. Elsa stood, taking a hesitant step towards the door.

" _Please_ , Elsa."

Another step.

"Please just let me in."

She was almost at the door now, just a few more steps.

The voice fell silent. Elsa closed the distance between her and the door, laying the palm of her hand flat against the smooth wooden surface, oblivious to the circle of frost appearing below her hand. Suddenly exhausted, she rested her forehead softly against the door. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, anything, but the words refused to come.


	2. Chapter 2

The fire in the sitting room fireplace seemed too cheerful. Outside was cold, probably below zero. Again. Anna sighed as she stretched out on the couch, and wondered for the bazillionth time why she even bothered knocking on Elsa's door anymore. She rolled onto her stomach, propping an elbow and her head up on the sofa's armrest.

"I mean, it's not like she ever comes out anymore, Joan," she complained, addressing her words to a large painting of a fierce-looking woman wearing old-fashioned armor, a large cross emblazoned across her chest. "I thought it'd be different once we'd gotten past the whole 'Elsa turning all snow queen and then me saving her from Hans and then Elsa figuring out how to unfreeze everything' thing. When she said 'we are never closing those gates again,' I thought she meant like metaphorical gates. Also the real ones. But mostly the metaphorical ones. _I_ got that. Didn't you get that, Joan?" Anna scrunched up her face into a half-scowl. "No, you're a painting." She rolled onto her back again with a frustrated groan, letting her arm hang off the couch. "See, that's what's nice about talking to real people. They answer you. Well…usually they do," she added as an afterthought.

Now that Anna knew what it was like to dance half the night away, fight off bloodthirsty wolves, climb a mountain covered in snow, almost be married by trolls, and recover from being entirely made of ice, her old life of roaming through empty halls and talking to paintings didn't seem nearly as interesting. She was back to her lonely existence, and she felt cheated. It was infuriating. It was like nothing had changed! Elsa, the acting queen of Arendelle, spent most of her days shut in her room, only emerging when she absolutely had to. Kristoff was taking his new duties very seriously, despite continuing to insist that 'Arendelle Ice Master and Deliverer' wasn't a real thing, so he was gone quite a bit more than Anna would have liked.

Caught up in the unfairness of it all, Anna marched back to Elsa's door, intent on confronting her sister.

* * *

Elsa paced in front of her window, arms tucked across her stomach protectively. She was trying. Really, she was. But thirteen years of habits were hard to break.

She stopped, dropping her arms to her sides and drawing herself up straighter. She was the queen. There was no room to be the scared little girl any more, nowhere to run away to if the fear set in again. It was time to actually play the role she'd been practicing for all her life. It was time to be brave.

Sighing, she crossed to her door, opening it.

"Oh!" Anna stood just outside the door, fist raised as if to knock. Her face was hard to read- but maybe that was because she didn't really know her sister any more.

"Anna." Elsa's voice was low and quiet, turning the end of the word up so that it was almost a question. Almost.

The redhead stiffened slightly, her lips pressed together. "We need to talk, Elsa," she said finally.

"You're right. We do need to talk." She kept her voice soft, trying to convey years of suppressed emotion in seven words.

Anna looked surprised. "We do? I mean, we do."

It took a lot of effort for Elsa not to smile at that. She gestured down the hall with one pale hand. "Shall we discuss this over tea?"

"No!" The reply was immediate, and both girls were surprised at the ferocity of the exclamation. Anna looked down at her hands twisting over her stomach, then, as if making a final decision, dropped her hands and met Elsa's gaze with her own. "No. I need to talk to you now."

Elsa hesitated, then opened the door wider, wordlessly inviting Anna in. She watched her younger sister nervously. Anna's eyes were wide, taking in the scars along the walls from years of uncontrollable outbursts of ice. She stepped slowly, making her way to the little couch nestled into an alcove, and sat down before making eye contact with Elsa again.

"I- I've never been in your room before. It's different. Not like your…" she trailed off, and Elsa understood her reluctance to discuss the ice palace. Anna looked down again.

The blonde hesitated again before perching on the window seat a few feet away from the couch. "Anna, what did you want to talk to me about?"

The younger girl bit her lip. "I, um, I wanted to…" Her chin lifted defiantly. "Elsa, why are you still shutting me out? I thought we were done with that, I thought…maybe that you trusted me now. And that you understood that I'm okay. Besides, now you know how to unfreeze things, so it's not like you could do the eternal winter thing again. And what about being queen? I mean, I'm not judging or anything, but it seems like being in your room all the time isn't exactly conducive to diplomacy." She took a deep breath. "That was kind of a tangent. My biggest burningest question is just…why, Elsa?"

The hurt in Anna's teal eyes was too painful to ignore. Elsa stood, taking a shaky breath. "Anna, you have to understand that this," she gestured to the room around her, "was the only world I knew for thirteen years. It's…difficult to just pretend it never happened. I'm sorry, I never meant for you to feel abandoned. I'm just…having a little trouble adjusting."

"A little trouble adjusting? Come on, Elsa. You didn't have any trouble adjusting to the North Mountain, why is this any different?" She stood up so fast it almost looked like she'd jumped. "I'm your _sister_ , Elsa. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Of course it does!"

"Well, it doesn't feel like it!" Anna shot back. "You said we were leaving the gates open. Open!"

"They are-" Elsa started, but Anna cut her off.

"Nothing's changed since we got back, Elsa. Did you get that? _Nothing's changed_."

"That's not fair!" Elsa was angry now. "Do you have any idea how hard this is for me? I'm _trying_ , Anna."

"Two super uncomfortable meals together isn't _trying_. Try harder."

They glared at each other. Anna's hands were on her hips in a defiant pose, while Elsa's arms were thrown behind her body, palms facing the wall behind her. The window was completely frosted over, making the room darker than it had been. Icicles glittered threateningly from the ceiling and the wall behind Elsa, the little amount of light in the room reflecting off the sharp points.

"I think you should leave." Elsa's voice was cold, containing none of the desperate pleading it had when she'd said those exact words in the ice palace. This was not lost on either of them.

Anna turned angrily, throwing a "fine, I'll just go talk to the paintings again" over her shoulder.

When the sound of her sister's footsteps had faded down the hall, Elsa allowed herself to crumple onto the window seat. She rested her head in her hands and wondered what she was doing.


	3. Chapter 3

They didn't talk about it for a week. The silence hung frostily between them, especially during meals. They ate in the dining room as they always had, tiny at one end of the long dark table.

Old habits were hard to break.

Elsa tried to bring it up on the third night. They were sitting across from each other, as usual, and Anna was scowling into her soup.

"Anna," she began. The redhead didn't react at all; she might not have heard. A little louder: "Anna." Still no response, save for the minute twitch of an eyebrow. Elsa closed her eyes, collecting her thoughts. "You're not-"

Anna scooted her chair backwards roughly, and angrily left the room.

Okay, that wasn't going to work.

On the fifth day, Elsa left her room. She spent the day familiarizing herself with the palace, running her hand along the wooden railing as she went down the stairs, tracing wallpaper patterns with her fingers. She hadn't realized how wonderful it was to _feel_ things.

The portrait room was the only room she intentionally avoided. Elsa didn't think she could bear to see all of the eyes watching her. It reminded her too much of her isolated childhood, constantly watched by worried eyes.

That night, Elsa dreamed of frozen hearts, sharp swords, and sisters made of ice. She woke with a start, heart racing, legs tangled in frost-covered sheets, the panic threatening to overwhelm every rational thought.

Day six. The study was warm, at least it was to Elsa. She had never been particularly sensitive to the cold. The fire in the grate was cheerful, though. A stack of papers had collected on the desk, reminding her of her duties. She pictured her father, watching her disapprovingly, and sighed. Anna was right; she hadn't been acting like much of a queen. Queens didn't run off into the mountains, queens didn't ignore their duties, and they certainly didn't fight with their sisters. Sitting down at the desk, Elsa began the tedious task of sorting through paperwork.

Hours later, there was a hesitant knock on the door. "Yes," Elsa called absently, reading a letter from one of the neighboring kingdoms. The door opened slowly. Kai stuck his head in.

"Your Majesty. I do not wish to disturb, however I must insist you eat something. It's- well, it's late." He cleared his throat, evidently waiting for permission to enter.

Elsa stared at Kai. "Late? How long have I been in here?" She could not have been there for more than-

"Eight hours, your majesty." The old servant looked down, almost shyly.

"Eight!" Elsa started to get up, but Kai entered the room completely, revealing a covered plate. "Oh. You…brought me dinner?"

"Of course. I will leave you to your work." Placing the plate on Elsa's desk, Kai left the room.

Their fight ended in the middle of the night. Anna couldn't sleep, she'd never been good at blocking out the colors dancing brightly in the night sky. After tossing and turning for what felt like hours, she gave up on sleep altogether. Padding down the hall in her light green nightgown, Anna shivered as she got closer to Elsa's room. She hesitated outside the door before opening it and stepping in, intending to creep into bed with her older sister so she could sleep, just like they'd done as kids.

But Elsa wasn't sleeping. She was sitting straight up in her bed, blankets strewn haphazardly on the floor, eyes wide, chest heaving wildly, the entire room covered in a thin layer of ice.

"Elsa? What's wrong?" Anna hurried to her sister, slipping a little on the ice, and was almost surprised to be met with a fierce hug. She stroked Elsa's back comfortingly. "It's okay, Elsa. I got you."

Elsa buried her face in Anna's neck, clutching her sister closer. "Anna...it was- you were- I'm sorry."

Anna didn't respond, but kept rubbing her back. They stayed like that for a while. When Elsa calmed down, Anna helped her gather the blankets, and laid down next to her sister. Propping her head up on one elbow, she asked quietly, "Elsa...what was that?"

The blonde was quiet. Fixing her eyes on the ceiling above her bed, she finally replied, "Sometimes I dream about...what happened, what I did to you. And sometimes I dream about what might have happened. Usually you're dead, and it's always my fault." Her voice cracked towards the end, and Anna felt a mixture of guilt and love. She curled up closer to Elsa, resting her head in the hollow of the older girl's neck. Elsa continued, "Anna, I'm sorry about all of this. You're right, I need to work on a lot of things. But from now on, my door is open."

Anna grinned into her sister's hair. "Good. And I'm sorry too. Can we be friends now?"

Elsa laughed. It felt good to laugh. "Only if we're best friends."


	4. Chapter 4

A letter bearing the sign of the Southern Isles lay on Elsa's desk threateningly. She wasn't hiding it, exactly, it had just happened to worm its way under a few other papers. It was silly to be so apprehensive of a paper, she knew, but the crest alone brought back such awful memories, not yet healed with time. Besides, there were other missives from other kingdoms. Those could be dealt with first. Elsa sighed, looking at the small pile of letters.

In an attempt to heal any fractured alliances, as well as strengthen the ones not lost during the freeze, Elsa had decided to host a ball. It wasn't a celebration of her coronation so much as a reminder, a sign that she could recover and learn from her mistakes to emerge stronger. It was also an apology of sorts. She would not be remembered as the queen who isolated Arendelle from the world; she was determined that the small kingdom would thrive despite her initial failure. Throughout the few days following the ball would be a series of meetings with delegations from various kingdoms, mostly to discuss trade and alliances.

Elsa hoped it would work.

* * *

"What? No. You can't be serious!" Anna's face was red. "After what happened?" She was shaking with fury, hands clenching and unclenching by her sides.

Elsa closed her eyes, breathing in. She _knew_ this would happen, she should have approached this differently, she should have done a million things differently. "Anna, it's just for the ball. I am taking every precaution I can think of. You will never be out of my sight, I can even set up a small guard for you, if that would help."

"It's not about that! I don't want to have to worry about where I am or what I'm doing or who I'm with."

Despite everything, a hint of a smile pulled at the corner of Elsa's mouth. "That's part of being a princess."

The redhead sighed exasperatedly. "It's not funny, Els."

"I never said it was." The smile disappeared. "Anna, if you really feel that strongly about it, I can arrange for the delegation to have an audience with me a day or two before the ball so they can leave before it begins. It'll be like they were never here."

Anna groaned. "No, that's worse! You can't be alone with anyone from the Southern Isles, let alone anyone related to-" She broke off, unable to say the name. "The royal family," she continued, her voice noticeably subdued.

Elsa bit her lip, not sure of what she should do. She moved closer to Anna, awkwardly putting a hand on the redhead's shoulder. It was meant to be comforting. Anna looked up at her, and her face went from thinly concealed pain to surprised confusion to a warm smile in about two seconds.

"You're sure you'll be all right?"

Anna pulled her sister into a hug. "I'm sure," she said softly. Their embraces weren't as rare now, and it was a nice change. Anna was the first to pull away, putting her hands on Elsa's shoulders and adopting a playful expression. "And no surprise engagements this time, promise," she laughed.

"Oh?" Elsa lifted an eyebrow, matching her sister's impish tone. "Speaking of surprise engagements, shall we invite your rugged mountain man?"

The redhead blushed fiercely, throwing herself into the sofa facefirst. "He's not _my_ rugged mountain man. He's my Kristoff. Just Kristoff." She lifted her face from the cushion long enough to clarify, "He's Kristoff."

"So is 'just Kristoff' getting an invitation to the ball, or isn't he?"

"You can invite whoever you want, you're the queen."

" _Whomever_. Do you want him there or not?"

Anna glared into the sofa. "Ehhmph."

"I know you can speak clearly."

"Mmehhph ooo."

"That didn't…that doesn't make any sense." Elsa stood. "Fine. I won't invite him, then."

Anna jumped up. "No! Um. You can…invite him. I mean, I'd like him to be there."

The older girl smiled. "That's what I thought. All right, I'll put him on the guest list." She paused. "That reminds me of the other thing I wanted to tell you." She sat on the couch. Anna followed, tucking her feet beneath her and resting against Elsa. "We- do you remember, at my coronation, a girl about my age with short brown hair?"

Anna scrunched her nose. "No. Was she at the party?"

"No, she and her husband left before it started. They were only able to stay for the ceremony."

"Okay? What about her?"

Elsa took a deep breath, oddly nervous. "It seems…she's our cousin."

Anna shot up, her head knocking into Elsa's chin in the process. The blonde swore, rubbing her chin. Anna cringed slightly. "Sorry." She stopped, suddenly curious. "I didn't know you swore." Shaking her head, she returned to the subject. "Wait, no. Cousin?"

"Apparently. Did Mother mention her to you?"

"Maybe." She thought for a moment. "Wait, the one in…Poland? With Mom's sister?"

"Germany. And yes, she's our aunt's daughter."

"Okay, so why are we just finding out about her?"

Elsa shifted uncomfortably. Anna's eyes widened and then narrowed accusingly. "You knew, didn't you? You must've, to know she was at your coronation. Why didn't you tell me? Were you going to tell me?"

"There wasn't exactly a lot of time, Anna. As I remember, we both had other things on our minds. Anyway, she and her husband are going to be at the ball."

"Does our mysterious cousin have a name?" Anna's tone was still slightly off. Elsa guessed it would be a sore subject for at least five more minutes, and then it would be forgotten forever.

"Rapunzel. And her husband's name is Eustace or Edward or something. She sounds a lot like you, actually, from her letter." Elsa smiled gently. "It'll be nice to have more family."

Anna squealed excitedly. "Her letter? Can I see it? What'd she say? Are they gonna stay with us? Where's the letter? Can I read it?"

"It's on my desk in the study, if you want it. I was going to have one of our guest suites made up for them, yes." The blonde stretched, covering a yawn with one hand.

Immediately, Anna pounced. "Are you tired? Your eyes look tired. Well, not your _eyes_ eyes, the circles beneath them. How long've you been up? How've you been sleeping?"

"Anna, I'm fine." She tried not to laugh at her sister's concern, but it amused her. Maybe she did need sleep. "It _has_ been a long day, though."

"That's it!" Anna jumped to her feet, dragging Elsa with her. "Off to bed with you!"

Elsa let herself be dragged down the hall and to her room. It was strange yet comforting to have Anna watching out for her constantly, especially when she'd spent so long doing the same for Anna. Of course, now everything was completely different, while somehow remaining exactly the same.


	5. Chapter 5

The morning of the ball dawned brightly. Elsa took her breakfast alone, as usual. Judging by the position of the sun, Anna wouldn't be up for another four hours. It was a very rare thing for the sisters to have breakfast together, and usually only happened when the night sky shone with ribbons of color.

Those nights were secretly Elsa's favorite nights, because she and Anna would sit together on one of the balconies with a blanket and two mugs of steaming chocolate. Sometimes they would talk about anything and everything, other nights they would simply watch the lights beam across the dark sky. It was nice, and Elsa felt it was a very sisterly thing to do. Neither Elsa nor Anna were used to having one another around, but after only two weeks, they had fallen into a pattern that was slowly becoming familiar.

She had finally opened the missive from the Southern Isles. It had merely been an apology from King Frederik, along with a plea to consider remaining alliances, if only for trading purposes. Elsa didn't want to have anything to do with that kingdom after what happened with their youngest prince, but at the same time, she could not do anything out of personal emotion that might endanger Arendelle. She'd already cut off all trade with Weselton, but that was a smaller duchy who benefited more from the alliance than Arendelle did. Still, that had been a rash decision. She could not afford any more.

As much as she might have liked to ignore it, she knew the problem of the Southern Isles had to be dealt with, and soon. She planned to meet with her advisors to discuss the matter later in the morning, before seeing to ball preparations. The tone of her meeting today would dictate the tone of her meeting with the delegation from the Southern Isles tomorrow. Theirs was the first meeting of the week; Elsa intended to deal with them first in order to minimize their presence in Arendelle.

* * *

"I _realize_ their trade is valuable. I am _asking_ if we can do without it." Elsa's nerves were frayed. The meeting had taken up most of the morning, and they had been talking in circles for most of it. She cast another surreptitious glance at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room. If the meeting ran another half hour, she thought she might scream out of frustration. _That_ would be interesting.

The group nervously exchanging glances at the table before her had been hand-picked by her father. Prior to her coronation, she didn't have the power to make any changes, and since her coronation she had found she did not need to. These advisors had all helped her father through a very successful reign, and they would help her do the same. But right now they were getting on her nerves.

The meeting continued with a surprisingly animated discussion of alliances and trade routes, some waving of maps, and a bit of yelling. When it finally drew to a close, Elsa allowed herself to breathe deeply. The problem of the Southern Isles would soon be no more than a distant nightmare if all went well, and she hoped the gods would allow her a respite from such problems for a while.

* * *

The still-strange sounds of strings and revelry spilled from the ballroom, intruding on the quiet of the hallway. This ball was eerily similar to the other one. It sent a shiver down Elsa's spine, ice settling into the pit of her stomach. She had elected to wear her hair up in a simple but elegant bun, and had abandoned her ice dress in favor of a more traditional crushed velvet dress in the dark blues, teals, and burgundies of Arendelle. The blonde frowned, pale fingers tugging at the cuffs of her long sleeves absently. While she despised the very idea of wearing gloves again now that she knew how to control her powers, a small part of her longed for the peace of mind they had once given her.

There was another reason she'd planned the ball, the reason she'd kept from Anna. Her advisors were becoming rather insistent on both of the girls forming alliances through marriages. Thankfully, they had been more lenient on the matter before Elsa's coming of age, but now the subject had been brought up in nearly every meeting. The ball was a sort of compromise; the majority of the neighboring kingdoms' eligible royalty had been invited and would be there tonight. Elsa didn't want either of them to have to marry. They'd only just begun being true sisters, and the thought of Anna leaving to spend the rest of her life even a day's travel from Arendelle made Elsa's stomach twist painfully. Besides, there was the matter of Kristoff. Anyone could see how he and Anna complemented each other, but he was an ice harvester from the village (and that was only if she was being very generous. The village was at least a step up from the _woods_ ). It wasn't exactly an advantageous match for the princess, let alone the kingdom. As much as she would have liked to let Anna do as Anna pleased, there was the matter of the royal line to consider. That was why her marriage was so much more important than Elsa's. Anna could have a number of beautiful, healthy children, while the queen wasn't sure she could risk passing her curse down. Elsa rubbed her temple with cool fingers, trying to prevent the headache forming above her eyes. That was a matter for another day. Tonight she would simply meet their respective potential suitors, and, gods willing, the ball would pass unremarkably.

"Her Majesty the Queen Elsa of Arendelle!" Kai's voice boomed majestically from the ballroom.

She straightened her back, pulled her shoulders down and back, folded her hands in front of her, lifted her chin, and walked into the ballroom. The guests were already there, and most looked pleased to see the queen. Elsa allowed herself to exhale, and smiled gently as they bowed before her.

"Her Royal Highness Princess Anna of Arendelle!" Anna looked disgruntled as she was shown to her place next to Elsa on the dais. The blonde shot her sister a concerned look, which the redhead made a show of ignoring. Elsa sighed internally.

"Your majesty, Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess Rapunzel of Corona, and her husband the Duke of Hagendorf." Kai bowed, gesturing the couple forward to the sisters. Evidently no time would be wasted tonight.

The short brunette curtseyed quickly to the two women, then bounced forward, excitement gleaming in her green eyes. The man behind her rolled his eyes ever so slightly, moving smoothly to his wife's side. As he laced his fingers through hers, she stopped bouncing, as though he was tethering her to the ground. Elsa bowed her head respectfully, though she didn't need to. Anna curtseyed, thankfully without falling over.

"Oh, oh my goodness, I can't believe we're finally meeting you! I've been looking forward to this for so very long, I can't believe it's actually you! I'm dreadfully sorry we couldn't stay for your coronation ball, we tried to, but the ship and the schedules and our captain was very ornery. I tell ya, if I'd have had my frying pan- anyway, here we are now, I guess. Oh, this is Eugene. He's wonderful." If Rapunzel had sounded a bit like Anna in her letter, she could have been the redhead's twin now.

"Arendelle welcomes you, your Royal Highness." Elsa paused, letting her expression relax into a warm smile, and nodded toward Eugene as well. "And I welcome you, cousin. The rooms for you and your delegation are satisfactory, I hope?"

"Oh, just call me Rapunzel, _please_. Yes, they're absolutely lovely! There's so much more space here than in Corona. I like it." The short brunette started bouncing again. She was so like Anna, it made Elsa feel a bit warmer. _Happiness_. "We didn't really get much time before the ball to explore, though. Not that we would have gone anywhere we're not supposed to! We- I just didn't have time. To explore." Pink bloomed beneath her freckles.

"Perhaps Anna will show you around the castle later? She knows these halls better than the servants do, I'm sure." Elsa took the opportunity to look at her sister. Anna's face had fallen slightly, and she was playing with her fingernails distractedly. _Oh. Of course_. Elsa turned back to Rapunzel, who either hadn't noticed or was very graciously pretending she hadn't.

"That sounds wonderful!" Rapunzel turned fully toward Anna, coaxing the redhead out of her shell with a knowing smile. "I'd love to see the castle my cousins grew up in, and I'm sure you would be much better at giving tours than the staff would. They don't know where the secret passages are, and I bet you do." She winked conspiratorially at Anna, whose expression of distant hurt had disappeared completely.

 _Your fault. It was your fault she had to grow up in the hallways alone, spending all that time by herself. And you had to go and remind her._ Elsa's eyes fluttered closed. _Your fault._

A surprised squeak made Elsa's eyes pop open. Rapunzel, Eugene, and Anna were covered in a light dusting of snow. Anna put a hand on Elsa's arm, concern written very clearly in her eyes.

"Is this…snow?" Eugene was inspecting a handful of the stuff. "It is! Blondie, look at this! It's snow!"

Elsa took a deep breath, trying to focus on the warm pressure of Anna's hand on her arm. _Love. Anna loves you. It's okay._ Slowly, too slowly, the snow melted away. She cleared her throat. "Yes. It seems we have some catching up to do. Perhaps we can discuss this further after the ball? Or tomorrow, perhaps?" _How have they not heard?_ Eugene's surprise was strange. Corona was close enough that they should have heard stories of the Great Freeze.

Rapunzel had not said a word since her squeak. She was looking at Elsa very intently, as if she were trying to read an unfamiliar language. Perhaps they had heard, and Eugene was simply surprised at the experience. Something in Rapunzel's gaze made Elsa vaguely uncomfortable.

With the promise of further discussion at a later date, the couple took their leave. Anna moved closer to Elsa, tucking her arm around the blonde's. "Are you okay?" she asked softly.

 _Gods. I don't deserve this girl. I opened a door that should have stayed closed, and still she comforts me._ "Yes. Thank you." Her words came out cold and brittle. She cursed inwardly, and placed her free hand atop Anna's. Her cold fingers settled uncertainly around her sister's warm hand. "Thank you, Anna." This time there was warmth in her quiet voice.

The evening passed with no further snow incidents. Elsa continued to refuse dances with the various nobles introduced to the girls. Anna danced with almost every one of them, until Kristoff made an appearance, and then she would happily have spent the rest of the ball in the corner with her valiant pungent reindeer king if Elsa had not reminded her of her duties with a quirked eyebrow.

They were introduced to some of the neighboring royalty, with whom Elsa would be meeting with later that week. She most looked forward to speaking further with the king and queen of Hartshels, in Denmark. The queen had vibrant red hair that surprisingly did not clash with her light pink dress, and the tiny princess had clutched nervously to her mother's skirts until Anna had offered to dance with her. The two-year-old's whole face had lit up at that, and Anna whirled her around the dance floor until her dark hair slipped out of its simple braid and her melodic laugh had echoed around the room.

Elsa did not approve of any of the potential suitors introduced that evening. Most of them were acceptable as far as alliances went, but the men themselves were all wrong for both girls. They were too boorish, too energetic, too arrogant, too desperate, too interested, not interested enough…Elsa found fault with each and every one of them. Anna deserved someone perfect, especially if she was going to give up Kristoff. Not that she knew that yet. Elsa felt a pang of guilt as she saw the redhead leaning into the mountain man's side as they piled food onto their tiny plates. She had to tell her. Later, though. She would let Anna have her happiness tonight.

Kai sighed quietly from his place in front of the dais. "Lady Nuri, of Agrabah." His voice was respectfully unemotional, but Elsa knew him well enough to detect the note of annoyance. It was getting late, and the guests should have been starting to filter out. Elsa ducked her head, using the respectful gesture to hide an unqueenly grin. Agrabah? That was so far away, what in the name of the gods were- but then she was lifting her head and the girl standing in front of her was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen.


	6. Chapter 6

Elsa scrambled to remember the girl's name. Lady Nuri, Kai had said. Most of her was covered in a long-sleeved dark red dress embroidered with intricate gold patterns. Perhaps the most noticeable thing about her was the fabric the same shade of red as her dress gracefully draping over her head and about her shoulders. Her hair was hidden beneath it, except for a few black curls that had come loose.

Elsa didn't notice any of this, captivated by almond-shaped brown eyes rimmed with kohl. The black smudgy kohl made her eyes stand out against her warm, caramel-hued skin.

She'd never liked red. Why hadn't she? It was the most beautiful color in the world.

Her regal composure had melted. "A- Arendelle welcomes you, Lady Nuri." The name felt right, like she'd always been meant to pronounce it. Elsa felt her cheeks grow hot.

Nuri curtsied, a smile growing on her face. "Thank you, your Majesty."

Were there other people present? At this point, Elsa wasn't sure. She had to say something, keep the girl there for as long as possible before she was whisked away by one of the men.

She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything Anna was next to her again.

"I don't think we've met. I'm Princess Anna of Arendelle." Anna turned wide teal eyes on Elsa, whose own icy blue eyes were narrowed. "What?"

Nuri smiled, curtseying more formally to Anna. "Lady Nuri of Agrabah, your Royal Highness. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She shifted her attention back to Elsa. "I have heard much about both of you. To finally meet the sisters of Arendelle- this language has no words to express my feelings." She paused, then added: "I am very much looking forward to our meeting, Queen Elsa."

"As am I, Lady Nuri. I pray it will be fruitful, and that only good comes from our meeting." Her mouth was dry. Why was she so nervous?

The woman smiled demurely. "I do not doubt that it will, but for now I am afraid I must take my leave. Surely there are many others who desire your company. _Tosbeheena 'ala khair_ , Queen Elsa. Princess Anna." She nodded to Elsa and Anna in turn before turning and gliding gracefully away.

"Whoa, Elsa, why is your face all red?" Anna looked concerned.

The blonde's eyes widened. "I'm not- I don't know. Is it hot in here?" She scanned the room quickly. Thankfully, there were no other latecomers to greet. "I need to get some air. Please excuse me." Elsa stepped off the dais and made her way to one of the balconies off the ballroom perhaps a bit too quickly, leaving Anna blinking confusedly.

* * *

The ending of a ball was the saddest part. Not that Anna had anything to compare it to, seeing that this was the first ball she'd ever been to that ended without her sister accidentally revealing her ice powers. Okay, this wasn't so bad.

Still, as the guests trickled out and the servants began clearing the food away, Anna couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. Elsa had been out getting air for quite a while now, and Kristoff had left an hour earlier, so she was alone. Now she felt awkward. Did she wait for Elsa to come back in so they could go off to their new adjoining rooms together? Or would that be weird? Suddenly she was angry. How could Elsa leave her alone again?

A light tap on her shoulder made her jump, yelping with surprise as she turned around. "Hey! What- oh, it's you."

Rapunzel grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't…scare me. I, uh, was just…testing you. Yeah, that's it." She laughed half-heartedly, waving her hands weakly in the air in an attempt to convey…something. She wasn't sure what. "You passed."

"Uh-huh." The brunette rolled her eyes teasingly. " _Sure_. Listen, I was just wondering if you still wanted to show me around? Just me, Eugene's…busy." She looked pointedly over at her husband, who was arguing with one of the servants.

Anna held back a giggle. "Of course. Whaddya wanta see first?"

"Surprise me!" Rapunzel's green eyes shone mischievously as the girls linked arms and bounded out of the almost-empty ballroom.

* * *

"And that's the sock-sliding room. Well, every room is a sock sliding room if you believe hard enough, but that one's got the best floor. I dunno why, but it does."

Anna had gotten more and more relaxed as she led her cousin around the castle, pointing out her favorite spots. Rapunzel stood beside the redhead as they stopped, hands folded behind her back.

"Anna…can I ask you something?"

She swung her arms, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Shoot."

Rapunzel bit her lip hesitantly. "Your sister…what happened earlier? Was that her? With the snow?"

Immediately Anna's eyes clouded over with suspicion. "Why d'you want to know?"

"I'm your cousin, I'm _concerned_." She spoke carefully, softly. "I know it's not easy to have magical powers. I just- I thought maybe…it would be nice for her to have someone to talk to. Someone who's been through the same kind of thing she has," she added quickly, seeing the redhead's defensive walls begin to come up.

"She has _me_. Besides, _you_ don't know what she's been through. You might be our cousin, but you're a stranger. You don't know what's been going on, _obviously_." Anna was a little surprised by the bite in her words and the anger in her voice. Still, she stood by what she said.

"I'm just trying to _help_ , An-"

"Don't!" Anna cut her off, stepping back. "You weren't there for us three years ago when we lost Mamma and Pappa. They were going to _your_ wedding, Rapunzel. But I guess you don't care about that. I guess you were too caught up in your _perfect_ little world, with your _perfect_ new husband, with your _perfect_ family, your _perfect_ life, to even care about anyone else."

Rapunzel drew herself up, steel in her eyes. " _Don't_ make assumptions about me. Like you said, we're _strangers_." With that, she turned on her heel and strode briskly down the hall.

Alone again, Anna stared after her. Where had _that_ come from? Her own behavior surprised her, but the tiny brunette's was even more unexpected. Everything about her screamed _innocent_ , from her light pink dress to her wide green eyes.

Anna sighed, beginning to doubt her belief that everything was okay now. Things hadn't really changed; everyone still had secrets, and people weren't always what they seemed to be. The thought haunted her as she tossed and turned later that night, finally falling asleep only to dream of white gloves and fires going out.

* * *

 _Deep breaths. These men are_ not _Hans._

"Gentlemen." Elsa strode into the room, where two men rose from their seats at the table. "I hope you were not waiting long?"

"Not long at all, your Majesty." The man who spoke was tall, with dark hair. Elsa could see the clear resemblance to Hans, and her stomach twisted slightly. "If I may, I am Prince Nikolai of the Southern Isles. This," he gestured to the man standing beside him, "is my brother, Prince Dominick of the Southern Isles."

Elsa bowed her head courteously to each of them. "Well met, your Highness. Your Highness. I am, as I'm sure you're aware, Queen Elsa of Arendelle."

They bowed. Elsa moved to sit at the table, across from the Southern Isles princes.

"Before we begin, your Majesty," the other prince spoke up, "I- we would like to formally apologize for everything our younger brother put you and your sister through. None of us knew of his intentions, I swear to you. Had we known, we would have kept him home."

Elsa raised an eyebrow at that, but the first prince –Nikolai- cut in before she could say anything.

"Hans is under the care of our oldest brother, King Frederik. He will see the error of his ways, I assure you. Frederik is exceedingly strict, and will see that Hans receives the punishment he deserves."

The other prince –Dominick- interjected again. "Nikolai and I would also like to apologize for our absence at last night's ball. We would gladly have attended, but our journey was slightly delayed and we arrived a few hours later than we intended to. By the time we docked, it was too late in the night for us to change, freshen up, and still have time to join your Majesty at the ball. We hope no offense was taken, as none was intended."

"No slight was taken, I assure you, although your presence would surely have improved the festivities." Elsa still wasn't quite sure about Hans, but there was no way to know without traveling to the Southern Isles herself. "I accept your apology, though I'm sure you understand that I cannot quite forgive Hans for everything he has done. I trust that King Frederik will deliver whatever sentence he deems most fitting. Now- shall we begin?" She sat, folding her hands in her lap.

The two princes followed suit. Across the table, Elsa noticed that Nikolai's eyes were an unusually light grey. It was a nice contrast to his dark hair, but gave his face something of a stern look. Dominick was slightly fairer than his brother, with cheerful bright blue eyes and loosely curled hair. Elsa wondered idly if it was natural or if he spent his mornings arranging it just so.

Clearly the one in charge out of the two, Nikolai spoke. "Your Majesty, the kingdom of the Southern Isles would be remiss if it did not at least attempt to make up for the mistreatment you received from its youngest prince. In that vein, we would like to arrange to increase the amount of luxury goods exported from the Southern Isles to Arendelle. We would also like to offer a gift."

"Oh? And what sort of gift does the Southern Isles offer Arendelle to atone for the actions of its youngest prince?"

Nikolai smiled as he continued. Elsa distrusted his smile- was it because of Hans, or something else? "The Southern Isles would like to present Arendelle with a small fleet of ships."

Elsa's hands tightened in her lap. Arendelle did need the ships- after the Thaw, Elsa had replaced every ship beyond repair with a similar one from the Royal Navy. Luckily, there hadn't been many, but between the half-dozen of her own that had been damaged…Arendelle could certainly use the ships.

On the other hand, she had been hoping to decrease the flow of trade between Arendelle and the Southern Isles, eventually cutting it off altogether once alternate trade agreements with other kingdoms had been secured. This new trade arrangement would make that much more difficult.

But it was a generous gesture on the Southern Isles' part. Turning it down would imply a bias against the kingdom at best, and start a war at worst.

"The Southern Isles is known for its shipbuilding, your Majesty," began Dominick nervously after a few minutes of silence. "The fleet intended for Arendelle is almost finished now. I have personally supervised their construction, and I can assure you they are of the finest quality."

Elsa allowed a small smile. "I am sure they are very fine indeed, Prince Dominick." She turned her attention to both of them, her smile vanishing. "Arendelle graciously accepts the Southern Isles' generous gift."

"And what of the trade proposal?" Nikolai leaned forward slightly, pale eyes glinting. "Surely your Majesty would benefit greatly from an increase of luxury goods."

"The gift I accept, Prince Nikolai, however I cannot believe that the trade you propose is given as freely. What does the Southern Isles wish to gain in exchange for this increase?"

"The Southern Isles wishes to gain nothing more than a more amicable relationship with Arendelle, Queen Elsa."

Elsa fought the urge to roll her eyes. "And this _amicable relationship_ would benefit the Southern Isles in what way, exactly?"

Nikolai smiled again. "Perhaps a more amicable relationship would make it easier for your Majesty to consider another sort of proposal."

 _Oh, no._ Elsa's eyebrows lifted, her expression slowly becoming more and more formidable. "Surely you are not suggesting what it seems you are."

Dominick at least had the grace to flush and look away. Nikolai, however, seemed entirely unperturbed by Elsa's reaction. "The Southern Isles would like to offer my brother and myself as suitors for the respective hands of Princess Anna and your Majesty."


	7. Chapter 7

Elsa sat at her desk, head resting in her hands. She hated that she was even considering the proposal. Dominick seemed nice enough, but the almost predatory way Nikolai had looked at her made her feel very uncomfortable. Besides that, she didn't want anything to do with the Southern Isles, and she didn't want to know how Anna would react.

A quick _knock-knock-kno-knock-knock_ on the door, and then Anna bounded into the room with a large bowl.

"Hey, so I was just in the kitchen moping and eating chocolate because that's what I do when I mope and then I realized I was getting chocolate on my elbow, see," she pointed at a spot on her sleeve, "and I thought, hey, that's not very princess-ey, and _then_ I realized moping isn't very princess-ey either, so I decided to bring the party up to you. Chocolate?" Anna grinned and leaned over Elsa's desk, shoving the bowl toward the blonde.

Elsa lifted an eyebrow disapprovingly, but took a chocolate. "Why were you moping?"

The redhead stuck her tongue out. "That's the only thing you took away from that? Really?" She sighed, flopping down onto a little couch near Elsa's desk, cradling the bowl of chocolate on her stomach. She looked back at her sister, hoping she'd gone back to her paperwork, but _no_ , those huge blue eyes were one hundred percent focused on her. "Okay, fine, I was moping because I'm _bored_." Anna sat up, crossing her legs beneath her. "Hey, on a comp _lete_ ly unrelated note, have you seen Rapunzel today?"

" _You_ bored? That's something I never thought I'd see." Elsa smiled. "I did see her this morning, she and her husband took a few of the horses out. They should be returning before dinner. So until then, you're stuck with me."

Anna rolled her eyes. "I'm not _stuck_ with you. I happen to enjoy being with you, even if you are a big dork."

"That's Queen Dork to you, smartypants." Elsa's smile began to fade as her thoughts drifted back to her work. There was the issue with the Southern Isles to agonize over, and there were the meetings with other nations to prepare for. "Anna, I really have a lot of work to do."

"Oh." Anna tried to hide her disappointment, but failed miserably. "Is there...anything I can do? To help, I mean."

 _Would it be too irresponsible to sic Anna onto the princes? ...yes._ Was it worse that she had considered it? "I appreciate that, Anna, but no. Unless you would like to handle this week's meetings, of course."

The redhead immediately stood up, her face scrunching. "Nope. No thank you. I'll just, uh...go? then? Yeah. Maybe I'll go find Kristoff. If he's here. I wonder if he's here?"

"Oh! Anna, wait. There's something we need to discuss." It was horrible timing, but she needed to get the idea of marriage in her sister's mind before broaching the subject of suitors who were not Kristoff.

Anna looked a little suspicious, but she sat back down. "I'm listening."

Deep breath. "Well, you see, there are certain...duties...that come with being born into royalty. You've been doing very well, however there is one thing." She could feel her face burning, and she seemed to be physically unable to look at her sister. "It is important to- have you considered- marriage?" Glancing at Anna was the hardest thing she'd ever done.

The redhead was staring openmouthed at Elsa. She shook her head, blinking. "Uhhh, I mean there was the thing with- well, you know. And the trolls! The trolls tried to marry me to Kristoff! Did I tell you about that? That was awkward. Um. But, uh, no? I guess I've been thinking about other stuff. Like the ball and chocolate and our cousin and...stuff. Um...are you considering marriage?"

"No. Yes. Sort of." Elsa shook her head. "Wait, no, that's not-" She took a deep breath, her fourth in about as many minutes. "My advisors are growing impatient with us. With me. We are both of marriageable age, and yet we are both unmarried. It is becoming more of an urgent issue, especially as we have yet to...well, produce heirs."

This was worse than the whole ice magic thing. Anna was pretty sure she was about to die. Again. Her face was almost more red than Elsa's, which was really saying something. She cleared her throat loudly. "Okay. Um. Wow. Well, I, uh...I'll keep that in mind. Now I really gotta go bye!"

And with that, she ran out of the room before Elsa could say another word. _Thor's sweet biceps._ That was officially the weirdest conversation she'd had with her sister. Marriage? Babies? She was only eighteen, for Freya's sake. And Kristoff-

She stopped in her tracks, eyes widening. Kristoff was the closest thing she had to a suitor. He'd practically saved her life! No, wait, he _had_ saved her life. More than once, even. And he had those warm brown eyes that you could get lost in, and he was very tall, and he had kissed her that one time, and he was her best friend, and Olaf swore up and down that he loved her.

But babies. How many babies did she need to have? One? Two, just in case something happened to the first one. Three? What if she had twins? Which one would be the firstborn? Wait, no, twins aren't born at exactly the same time, that would be crazy. And really painful. Wait, what about Elsa's babies? Who was _she_ going to have babies with? Elsa didn't have a Kristoff...unless she _did_ and was just being very sneaky about it.

Well, from now on, no more secret boyfriend for Elsa! She was going to watch her big sister so closely that she would know all of her secrets! It was going to be amazing. And secret. Obviously Elsa couldn't know that Anna was spying on her. That would defeat the purpose of the whole mission! Maybe Kristoff would help. Anna nodded to herself, pleased. Kristoff would definitely help.

But first, more chocolate.


	8. Chapter 8

Two days of near-constant surveillance had not uncovered so much as a secret habit, let alone a whole secret boyfriend. It wasn't nearly as exciting as Anna had expected. She'd used her knowledge of the castle's secret passageways to spy on Elsa when she was in the study, which was most of the time. The only thing she'd found out so far was that Elsa apparently really liked paperwork. That was pretty much all she did. It was super boring.

Kristoff had reluctantly agreed to help, although he made sure Anna knew he wasn't quite comfortable with the whole thing.

Of course, he wasn't quite comfortable with any of Anna's constant rule-breaking, so she wasn't surprised at all. Elsa had forbidden them to be alone together, but Anna figured it was okay as long as they were just talking, right? They weren't doing anything they wouldn't do in front of other people. Still, she didn't bring it up around her sister. Their late-night talks were almost sacred, something to be felt only by them.

It was during one of these talks that things started to collapse. They were talking about the trolls, and how they'd taken Kristoff in, when the first bomb dropped.

"What do you mean, I was there? I've only been to the trolls once, and that was with you!"

Kristoff looked very much like he wanted to hide. "Well, it was a long time ago, but it was definitely you. I don't know what happened, I couldn't hear much." He paused, looking hopeful. "Maybe they just...wanted to chat? Y'know, royal stuff."

Anna shook her head impatiently, her braids flying in a red blur. "No, you said you'd seen them fix ice magic before. I only know one person who can do ice magic." She stood. "I've got to talk to Elsa."

"What, now? She's gotta be sleeping, look how dark it is!"

"Kristoff, apparently I got ice magicked when I was little, and nobody's thought to tell me until just now. Elsa and I need to talk. Right now."

Before he could protest further, Anna took off running. This was important, she thought as she skidded around a corner. Why hadn't anyone said anything? Anna stopped as a new thought occured to her. Maybe Elsa had done the frozen heart thing to her before. Was that bad? If they were little, maybe Elsa hadn't meant to. Maybe it had just...happened. It didn't make sense, though. The only way she was going to find out for sure was to talk to her sister.

Elsa's bedroom was dark and cold. The cold part wasn't abnormal, and neither was the dark part. It _was_ late. She wasn't in there, though. That meant...to the study! The door was cracked open, and a small glimmer of light shone through. Elsa was definitely in there. Anna marched up to the door and pushed it open.

"HEY. Elsa. So Kristoff and I were just talking, and guess what he remembers from a long time ago? Does troll-magic-fixing-ice-magic sound familiar to you?"

Elsa sat up quickly, rubbing her eyes before focusing on her sister. "Anna, what are you talking about? Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Anna briefly felt guilty for waking her up, but then she remembered why she was there, and the burning anger returned. "Nope. Don't change the subject. I know that Mamma and Pappa took us to the trolls when we were little, and I know that they fixed some kind of ice magic in my body."

Elsa's eyes widened. She clearly hadn't been expecting this. "Can we discuss this in the morning? Please?" Her sister's expression didn't change. "Over hot chocolate?"

"...yes. First thing!" With that, Anna spun around and stomped out of the room.


End file.
